09-10-10The import and manufacture of rosiglitazone, an anti-diabetic medicine, has been suspended in the country with immediate effect, as per the order of signed by the Drug Controller General of India on 07-Oct-2010.

The order has asked all state drug controllers to suspend all the licences granted to manufacture for sale and distribution of rosiglitazone and its fixed dose combinations with other medicines with immediate effect.

The decision was taken on the basis of the recommendation of the Expert Committee as "its continued use would lead to more cardiovascular events and adverse effects on lipid profile."

Rosiglitazone and its formulations have already been suspended by European Medicines Agency last month. The U. S. Food and Drug Administration has also said that it will restrict the use of this anti-diabetic medicine to patients with Type-2 diabetes who cannot control their diabetes with other medications.

15-08-09Even as the national death toll due to the swine flu has reached 23, It is suspected that the H1N1 virus may have claimed its first 2 victims in Chhattisgarh on Friday.

2 people - an 18 year old from Raipur and a 40 year old CRPF man from Bilaspur - have died.

The 18 year old Sitaram Varma had recently visited Pune while 40 year old CRPF man Y. S. Rao had been to Mumbai.

The nodal officer in charge of swine flu cases in Chhattisgarh has said that the cause of death is yet not definitely linked to the H1N1 virus. He said that Varma's throat swab has been sent to Delhi for the flu test.

Earlier it had been reported that the total number H1N1 related deaths as 26 but the same was scaled down to 23 after the it was revealed that the administration had wrongly attributed 3 deaths in Pune to this virus.

12-08-09Maharashtra Government has opted to close down schools, colleges, cinema halls and malls in Mumbai as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of H1N1 virus.

The announcement has come on the back of the news of the 15th casualty of the country due to swine flu was reported from Pune. Balu Kuland, 33 year, resident of Pimpri passed away in Sassoon General Hospital around 11am.

The action taken by the government in Mumbai is in line with its steps taken in Pune, where the maximum number of H1N1 infected cases have been reported so far.

Earlier in the a 38 year old doctor Rupesh Gangurde from Nasik succumbed to the virus in Nasik. Gangurde was a doctor at the Nasik Civil Hospital. He had been admitted to the hospital on Monday after he complained of vomiting and fever.

Out of 15 deaths reported due to the H1N1 virus, 11 are from Maharashtra, while 2 from Gujarat and 1 each from Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

10-08-09Swine flu has claims its 6th official victim in the country on Monday morning.

The latest report of loss of life is from Chennai, where a 4 year old boy died due to the influenza A (H1N1) virus.

Earlier in the morning, an ayurvedic doctor became the 3rd casuality in Pune. The young 35 year old doctor Babasaheb Mane had been admitted to the Sassoon Hospital in Pune where he succumbed to the virus.

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has asked the Health Ministry coordinate action with state government to control the virus. He has also asked the Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to setup a panel of experts to ensure correct dissemination of information on the H1N1 virus.

04-08-09The Epidemic Act has been invoked in Pune and Satara by the Maharashtra Government to tackle the Influenza A (H1N1). The move has come a day after the country's first swine flu related fatality was reported from Pune.

Patients have been asked not to go to private hospitals and get admitted in Government Hospitals. Private hospitals do not have the right to do tests and are expected not to take any patients suspected to be from this A(H1N1) virus unless they take permission from the government to do tests.

A 127 cases of the air-borne A(H1N1) virus infections have been registered in Pune and Panchgani districts.

Symptoms of A(H1N1) influenza:The symptoms of swine flu in people are similar to the symptoms of regular seasonal flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting associated with influenza-A (H1N1).

For more information on Influenza A (H1N1) or swine flu as it is commonly known click here.

03-08-09India has reported its first case of A/H1N1 (swine flu) death.

A 14 year old female student started having symptoms of sore-throat, runny nose, headaches on 21st July for which she consulted a General Practitioner and the general symptoms improved and attended school 23/07/09.

She again developed fever on 25th for which she consulted another private practitioner. Her fever continued and she was admitted to a private Nursing Home, Pune on 27th July 2009. The girl's condition worsened and was shifted to ICU and was put on Ventilator on 29 July 2009.

Her lung aspirate was sent to NIV Pune on 31 July 2009 and was tested positive for Swine A (H1). She was put on Oseltamivir on 30th July 2009. Her condition deteriorated again with multi system involvement and she expired on the evening of 03/08/09.

558 are positive cases of Influenza A H1N1 [Swine] have been detected in the country out of which 470 have been discharged, 1 has died, while the rest are still being treated at some identified health facility.

13-10-08WHO has informed of a new virus from Arenaviridae family that has been found in South Africa and Zambia.

The results of tests conducted at the Special Pathogens Unit, National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) of the National Health Laboratory Service in Johannesburg, and at the Special Pathogens and Infectious Disease Pathology branches of the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, USA, provide preliminary evidence that the causative agent of the disease which has resulted in the recent deaths of 3 people from Zambia and South Africa, is a virus from the Arenaviridae family.

Analysis continues at the NICD and CDC in order to characterize this virus more fully. CDC and NICD are technical partners in the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN).

Meanwhile, a new case has been confirmed by PCR in South Africa. A nurse who had close contact with an earlier case has become ill, and has been admitted to hospital. Contacts have been identified and are being followed-up.

WHO and its GOARN partners continue to support the Ministries of Health of the two countries in various facets of the outbreak investigation, including laboratory diagnosis, investigations, active case finding and follow-up of contacts.